


Come as You Are

by sheron



Category: Marvel (Comics), Marvel 616
Genre: Cuddling & Snuggling, Fandom Stocking 2017, Fluff, Friendship/Love, Huddling For Warmth, Hypothermia, M/M, Post-HydraCap, Post-Secret Empire, Secret Empire (Marvel), Tony has a body
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-09
Updated: 2018-01-09
Packaged: 2019-02-27 11:31:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,471
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13247343
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sheron/pseuds/sheron
Summary: Steve is rediscovering America, and Tony is rediscovering his own body, in particular that human bodies get very cold in winter. Cuddling!





	Come as You Are

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Sineala](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sineala/gifts).



> This takes place after the events of _Invincible Iron Man 595_ , and will probably be jossed in the next issue unless the first thing Tony does is go looking for Cap. It also takes into the account Mark Waid's new run for Captain America up through #696, with Steve traveling the country after the HydraCap debacle. This is my first foray into writing for _Marvel 616_ comics canon, and I want to thank Sineala for being one of the people who's made this fandom such a nice place to be.
> 
> The title is from Nirvana's song "Come as You Are". I hope you enjoy the story!

 

"Stop telling me you're okay."

Well fine, then. If Steve was gonna be like that, Tony would just rest his eyes for a second.

The next thing he knew someone was shaking his shoulder. "Tony? Tony!"

"What?" he said, feeling the crankiness to be perfectly justified. He had been halfway to a very pleasant dream. It was a familiar fantasy: he was far away from any troubles and from the cold, and Steve was there, happy to see him. 

"Don't go to sleep yet. Keep talking to me."

"You told me not to say anything..." Tony replied dreamily.

Steve's exasperated face shoved itself into his line of sight. "Don't stop talking. Just don't say you're okay, I know you're not. Your hands are like slabs of ice." Steve's face disappeared behind Tony's back again, which was very disappointing. Tony tried to follow it by turning his head, but he found that his body was completely uncooperative and the best he could do was face the drafty old ceiling in the hovel Steve was staying at. He had a distant recollection this used to be easier. On a day like today he felt as if he was a marionette moving his own limbs haphazardly. Maybe it was the cold. Maybe he couldn't quite get settled in properly into his body. When he had rushed to seek Steve out, he maybe hadn't given it much thought other that Steve-- Steve would need someone to watch out for him. As it happens, instead of being the hero for Steve, now it was Steve looking out for him. Tony made a low whine in his throat and tugged the covers up to his chin.

"Almost done," Steve's voice echoed behind him, reassuring in response. As surprised as he had been to see Tony at his door, as unnerved, within moments Steve's shock and careful reserve had turned to concern once he picked up on Tony's shivering, his body cold and miserable from the frigid temperatures outside. He had silently ushered Tony into the living room, told him to shuck off the wet clothing. Now Steve was fixing the small wood-burning fireplace at Tony's back, and he must have been succeeding because the heat from the fire was starting to soak through the nest of blankets Tony was nestled in, on the floor in front of it.

Tony knew when Steve was done, because the other man climbed back over him to the other side, leaving Tony's back fully exposed to the fireplace a few feet away. Without any false modesty, Steve shrugged out of his remaining old t-shirt until he was naked except for the white boxer briefs, and crawled under the blankets with Tony. Tony observed this with the stillness of a deer in the headlights of an oncoming train. Similarly stunned, he watched Steve pull at Tony's hands and set the palms against his own muscular chest, which was like a furnace. Tony felt his face heat, as if a switch had been thrown. Steve's other arm went around Tony's side under the blankets and began rubbing his bare back with brusque, efficient strokes. Almost outside of his control, Tony felt himself push his cold feet up against Steve, up against the nirvana of warmth next to him. Only for a moment, before he forced himself to move back, aware of how unfair this was to Steve. He thought Steve would probably assume the touch had been an accident, but instead he got a frown, before Steve shifted himself closer so their feet tangled together again. He even rubbed his large toe against the side of Tony's foot, offering comfort with every minuscule gesture, every touch of his body. 

Steve's brow furrowed, studying Tony's face intently, and Tony's heart sped up. Did Steve realize it had been an eternity since anyone had touched him?

He turned his face down into the nest of blankets, and tried to subtly inch away. His hands were burning against Steve's chest. What had felt like a pleasantly buzzing warmth became pinpricks of pain, spreading all over the skin. And he was shivering again.

Tony knew enough about hypothermia to know numbness leaving his limbs was a good thing, but it was one of the least pleasant sensations he could remember. And in a life as well-lived as Tony's that was saying a lot. 

Next to him, Steve made a sympathetic noise and shifted closer yet. Just an agonizing inch. Less. Steve's firm strokes of his back had long since devolved from rubbing warmth into his skin to something that felt a lot more like affectionate petting, running his fingers over Tony's back, his shoulders, sliding up the nape of his neck to scritch his hair with blunt fingers. "Next time don't go traipsing through Colorado in winter without proper clothing, huh, genius?" he said with a gruff mix of exasperated affection.

His huge fingers sank into the short hair at the back of Tony's head. Tony fought not to start babbling.

"I w-was looking for you..." 

Steve was evidently not so easily appeased. "I wasn't going anywhere," he said. Then added softly, almost sadly, "At least not for a few more days. I like it here."

Tony had no idea why. Not even a cottage with a fireplace made up for the locale. This freezing pit of a town was barely a blip on the map. In the middle of winter it was a very, very cold blip. "I for-forgot how cold it gets," he admitted.

"Yes, especially when you're wearing only a three-piece suit in the snow. Did you really _forget_ , Tony?" Steve sounded disbelieving.

Embarrassed, Tony might have flushed harder, if his body hadn't been working overtime to warm his extremities. So many biological processes happening at once, his mind dizzily tried to catch up with them all. Even though it hurt as warmth seeped into his limbs, it felt good, too. It felt like coming to life again. His body felt as if he was growing new and better nerve endings, capable of feeling so much more. With Steve holding him... _cuddling_ him, he could almost imagine being reborn like this, in Steve's arms. So much safer than the way it had happened in reality. Tony curled his fingers against Steve's skin, uncurled them again and splayed them across the perfectly chiseled naked chest in front of him. His bare feet stayed tangled with Steve's. He liked it that way and he hoped Steve didn't mind.

"I haven't had a body since― My A.I.―" he stumbled, paused, and started again, trying to keep his voice even, so careful around Steve. He couldn't get it wrong this time. "I'm trying to integrate the inputs from my body with the memories I downloaded from the A.I. me. Clearly, I hit a few snags."

"Like forgetting that humans get cold," Steve summarized patiently.

Tony bit his lip. "Wasn't really thinking about that..." 

"Because you went looking for me," Steve sighed.

"I'm goal-oriented?" Tony offered with a faint smile, lifting his head to catch a glimpse of Steve's face.

Before him, Steve shut his eyes briefly, letting out a deep sigh before he tilted his head forward, placing it against Tony's forehead. For a moment he stayed like that, then he rolled his forehead gently against Tony's.

"If something had happened to you―" he whispered, so soft Tony had to strain to hear it, and swallowed thickly.

"Hey..." Tony murmured, worried because Steve sounded upset and Tony meant to stop that from happening. Did he ever know how to do that? So much had happened. Deaths, rebirths, betrayals and forgiveness; coma. Hydra. They hadn't been able to truly _talk_ to one another for a while. Even though Steve was _right there_ , Tony suddenly missed him with a fierceness that was startling. 

"You just got yourself a body," Steve was saying, and the soft puffs of air from his lips were brushing against Tony's skin. A whole different kind of warmth began to spread in his chest, from the concern in the weary lines of Steve's face, from the way he was holding Tony close, as if never letting go. "You ought to be more careful with it."

Tony didn't mean to sound so damn _earnest_ , but the words slipped past his lips before his mind could fully catch up with them: "I wanted to see that you're alright."

He saw Steve's eyes take his face in; his expression turning somehow sweeter and... almost pained with it.

"I'm alright, Tony," he promised. 

"Yeah?"

Slowly, Steve leaned forward and brushed his lips against Tony's cheek. Tony trembled, and not from the cold. He shut his eyes, feeling Steve's breaths next to him. Warm and soft.

Steve's voice was barely a whisper between them. "Better with you here."

**Fin.**

 


End file.
